


The First Missions

by MeredithBrody



Category: Star Trek: Enterprise
Genre: F/M, Pre-Series
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-02-19
Updated: 2013-05-27
Packaged: 2017-11-29 19:16:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 21,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/690499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeredithBrody/pseuds/MeredithBrody
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Starfleet brings together it's most promising officers to create the first deep space exploration ship, and introducing two of Starfleet's finest to their future.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. June 2140

_**June 2140** _

The backdrop behind the reporter was quite a stunning view, it didn't matter to him that it was just a building. It was a glimpse of the future. A future he hoped he'd be able to shape in the ways he'd always dreamed of when he'd been a child. The day was huge for the entire planet, it was a massive step forward, but not only that, it was the day they finally defied the Vulcans, who still wanted them to wait a few years before conducting their warp tests. He was grabbing some cereal as the reporter began speaking, her words sending a quick shiver of panic, worry and apprehension down his spine. " _Today, the latest development of the Warp Five Project is founded in San Francisco. 4 of the best pilots currently employed by UESPA's Starfleet, along with 2 medical personnel and a communications specialist will be arriving at the newly christened NX-Project base here in the grounds of Starfleet command. Under the command of Captain Forrest..._ " He'd heard enough, and was worried for a moment that she might name the Lieutenants that command had chosen. They had picked relatively low ranked officers, in the hopes that they would grow into the roles they were thrust into. His cousin was still avidly watching the report that Jon was actively blocking out of his mind, trying to pretend that they were talking about something else. Pride and terror were apparently arguing for supremacy in his mind.

"Turn that off will you, I'm nervous enough." He snapped when it finally got too much, Ryan looked to him and shook his head a little, a smirk climbing up the younger Archer's face, as he clearly sensed a chance to tease his cousin, Jon just shook his head, and clearly Ryan thought better of adding to his worries, instead he took on a surprisingly neutral tone and held out the newspaper.

"You, nervous Jon?"

Jon gave Ryan a confused look, wondering if Ryan even had any idea what it was actually meaning for today. That it wasn't only huge for him, but for the entire planet, Though he was sure it would be barely a footnote in history, if the programme was a success. "It happens, this is a big day, we can start building and designing ships that could break the higher warp barriers. Warp 1.5 isn't going to cut it for exploration."

Ryan nodded and the look on his face reminded Jonathan that it was something he'd said a million times before. Sometimes he repeated himself when it came to the things he was passionate about, it just so happened that space travel was one of those things. After a minute Ryan continued, another far more thoughtful look on his face. "I know, not to mention it's uncle Henry's engine that will be the basis."

"Yeah, dad's engine." He muttered with a smile, then went back to focusing on the cereal, and making sure he didn't get it on his new flight suit. He watched Ryan stand up and take the two now empty dishes to the kitchen before shouting through.

"You'd best go or you'll be late. I have classes tonight, don't lock me out."

Jon shook his head, he'd only locked Ryan out once, and that had been a year earlier, and he had been drunk at the time. Something that apparently Ryan had taken it upon himself to ensure that Jon would never forget. "I'll see you later. If you see uncle Thomas today, tell him he owes me a beer." He had bet his uncle about the programme making the morning news, it had been on, so Jon had won. Something that would no doubt lead to much family teasing for his uncle for a while. Thomas Archer hated losing bets, even to his nephew.

Jon heard Ryan's sarcastic sigh through the doorway as he grabbed his bag full of keepsakes he'd brought from the previous test centre, ready to go in his new locker at the new programme. Ryan came to the kitchen doorway just in time for Jon to make it to the front door. "Will do. Good luck Lieutenant!"

He groaned, and flipped a rather unsavoury gesture toward the kitchen doorway. He tried to ignore his nerves as he walked through the city. Smiling and nodding hellos to the people who passed him, much like he did every time he came out, and in this area of San Francisco, it wasn't entirely unusual to see the blue jumpsuit of Starfleet officers and the separate UESPA engineers. He bounded through the doors and into the purpose built hanger, grinning as he saw the small group of people gathered around the room, they hadn't been due for another 15 minutes, and it seemed clear that the other two lieutenants hadn't been there all that long,

"Lieutenant Archer, you're early." Captain Forrest smiled and held a hand out, one that Jon took happily, having worked with Forrest for the last couple of years, the two already had a working relationship, and Jon knew it worked, more to the point, so did Starfleet.

"Yes sir." He nodded, and smiled, allowing Forrest to make the introductions.

"You weren't the first to arrive though, Lieutenant Duvall is a pilot and Lieutenant Hernandez is our communications specialist." He looked over the two, and felt immediately that he was going to like the woman far more. Duvall was tall, well built, and had a touch of superiority about him, while Hernandez was small and compact, and her shy smile put her on the opposite end of the spectrum to Duvall.

"Rob." Duvall held his hand out, his grip could probably crush diamonds. Jon tried not to wince a little as he turned back to Hernandez, holding his hand in her direction.

"Erika." She smiled a little more confidently, and he felt the strength in her grip, while she might have seemed a little shy at first, he was sure she was going to be a handful when she was more familiar with them all.

"Jonathan. Where were you stationed last?" He knew that small talk like this was an important gauge on a first meeting.

"I was flying on the Intrepid, good little ship."

"I was on the  _Lovell_ , junior comms. What about you?"

"I've been one of the test pilots out of command since I qualified."

"No actual time out on a ship?" Duvall asked, looking a little shocked that Jon had made it on to the programme while not piloting a ship regularly. Jon resisted his urge to point out that Duvall would have been a junior pilot at best. It wasn't worth starting the rivalry before they even had a ship designed to fight about.

"A fair amount, but studying how to make things work better."

"Seems about right." He said before following the direction that Forrest had left in a few minutes earlier. He watched the other pilot leave, and tried not to smirk.

"He's great at making friends isn't he?" He suddenly heard from his side, and he looked down to Erika, shaking his head a little at the dry delivery while simultaneously fighting the urge to burst out laughing.

"Apparently not, Erika, right?"

"Yeah, So you're a test pilot, Jon?" She asked.

"Jon. A good one, I've been on the test programmes as long as Starfleet's existed. Alongside flight school." He smiled and wondered what her story was. Everyone he knew had signed up for a love of space, but he thought maybe there would be more to her story, she didn't seem like the typical officer he met, he hadn't met many comms officers though.

She took a deep breath, and he wondered if maybe it was a painful or difficult story for her to try and tell. "I signed up the year it was chartered, mostly to be put through college. My family weren't exactly thrilled at the idea of me signing up for a science course."

"So you've been signed up since '33?"

"You?"

"Yep, I never saw you around the flight school?" He would have noticed her around, he was sure he would have done.

"I showed an aptitude for communications, so they put me straight into language schools."

That piqued his interest. He had always known that was how the comms specialists were picked, but languages had always gone over his head, and he was a little jealous of those who were bilingual. "How many languages do you speak?"

"At last count, 19. I'm working on number 20 though, I have a thing about learning dead languages and dialects. I'm working on Cornish now, so I'll speak every language that originated in Britain."

"Wow." That was more than he'd been expecting. 20 separate languages. Would she even ever need them all. "You should try teaching me the easiest one, one day." He asked, and belatedly realised he might have been flirting, just a little. Not that he was really sorry about it, and her grin told her she noticed his rather inexpert flirting around the same time she did.

Her grin just grew as she placed a hand on his arm and chuckled before agreeing. "Absolutely. I'm a bit of a slave driver when teaching though." She teased him back.

Before he could reply the sound of the others approaching reminded him where they were and that they needed to remain professional. "Here they are, hiding away in the corner, come and meet the rest of the team. You'll all be spending a lot of time together." He rejoined the conversation around him, but kept his eyes on Erika. ' _Well. This is damned inconvenient._ ' He thought to himself, trying to shake off what had happened and focus on the briefing.


	2. July 2140

**_July 21st, 2140._   
**

The hanger broke out into applause again as the pilots emerged from the testing simulator. They high fived each other before joining the command team, arriving at the same time as Captain Forrest. The first three weeks of the project had been much the same, testing out which piloting pairs and command pairs worked best. She was glad in her way that she always knew where she was going to be, and while she longed to get out into deep space, being a test pilot had never been an idea for her. She was far happier being the comms officer and spending her time giving commands in the centre. Forrest shook the hands of all those gathered around before speaking, obviously proud of what his handpicked team were already establishing."Great test. Broke the 1.5 barrier again." He beamed, and they all smiled back, it didn't surprise her that the openly hostile competition between the pilots once again slid her in the middle. Robinson's gaze fell between her and Jonathan, and immediately she knew what was coming, and as always she was going to have to play peacekeeper.

"Thanks for the clear orders, Erika." Came exactly as she'd known it would, and she fought the urge to roll her eyes. While they were all Lieutenants, she was by far the youngest member of the team, and she had been reminded on a few occasions that sarcasm wasn't always the answer.

She knew what would be the answer, and that would be to remind them all that she wasn't the one in charge when they were in the centre."I just pass them through to you boys, the real credit goes to Jonathan."

Jonathan grinned and gave her shoulder a gently friendly push, as if he was telling her to stop being modest. He was definitely the one she had gotten to know the most since the beginning of the project, and their initial awkward flirting had led to them working together more often than not, and now they were the ones seemingly chosen to command the missions. "Hey, we're a team, I'm sure it works as well whoever's in the command centre, Erika keeps us all in order." He grinned in her direction, and as soon as the chuckling subsided Forrest looked around and set about giving them their orders for the next week.

"Someone has too. Teams are again up on the board, Robinson and Duvall will be in the simulator, Archer running the command centre. Dismissed." Everyone dispersed, and she headed toward her locker, unsurprised to hear a familiar gait walking behind her and settling himself on the unused locker that was next to hers.

She could tell from his stance that something was bothering him, she looked around the door at him, knowing he'd need to be prompted into divulging what his problem was. "You look like someone kicked your puppy, what is it?"

"I feel like I'm always in the centre." He complained, and she let out a wry smile, she'd known that was going to be his complaint.

She already knew for certain what her response would be. The exact same as it had been a week earlier, when he'd first complained about how many command hours he was logging. "Because you know what you're doing. You're the only one getting the command experience." She had to say that, personally, she wasn't a fan of either Duvall or Gardner's command styles, and Robinson had yet to make it to the command centre with her, so she didn't know his. The most important thing about logging the command time would be if and when the project hit fruition, and the first ships were ready to go. "When it comes to who commands the first ship, these hours will matter." She reminded him, and he turned round, banging his head against the locker a few times before turning back to her.

"I know, but I want to be one of the pilots."

She stopped and thought a minute before offering something she hadn't ever thought she would, even though she had few plans on a Friday night, she normally appreciated being able to have a glass of wine in her pyjamas. "I'll stop late tonight if you want to log a couple of hours." She nodded toward the simulator with a smile. If he wanted to get piloting hours, that was how he'd have to do it anyway. Out of the pilots, he was the one she was most likely to grant these little favours too.

He studied her a minute as she swapped her Starfleet issue boots for a pair of more comfortable shoes, then a confused look crossed his face. "It's a Friday night?"

"I've got nothing better to do." She admitted honestly, and wondered what he'd make of that statement, unsure if she told him that because he needed to know, or because she just hated pretending that her life was more interesting that it was.

"Really?"

"I don't know many people here, I was up on  _Lovell_  for the last 3 years, and everyone else I knew from language school will be busy with family." She smiled, and looked over his shoulders to where Forrest was approaching them, two padds in his hands, and she wondered what he could possibly be handing them.

"Nice job you two." He smiled as he walked over, it was obvious that he liked what they were doing in the Command centre from how silent he was, when the others had been in Forrest had to intervene at least once, but he hadn't had to with Jonathan. "You've built up a good rapport, Hernandez you can preempt his orders. That's why we're putting the two of you together in the command centre. It's always good to see teams building like that." Erika had to admit, she took more liberties with Jonathan than she did with the others, but whenever she gave an order, he'd look and nod, proving that they were on a similar wavelength with what they needed to do. If it was impressing the Captain, maybe it would impress others too.

Jonathan smiled, but it was quite clear that his thoughts were going in a different direction, and it was obvious that he wanted to ask when he'd get his chance to prove his skills in the simulator. "Sir, I'm here to be a pilot?"

"Rotations start a week on Monday, you'll have your month in the simulator. The first prototype will be delivered soon, need to decide who will be doing the shakedowns. Right now though, I'm more inclined to have the two of you in the command centre. Here, you both need to look over the plans." She accepted the plans, as did Jonathan, and they bother muttered their thanks before he walked away. She turned back as Jonathan starting banging his head against the lockers again. She put her hand on his shoulder, causing him to stop.

"He's doing all he can Jon." She muttered, and his eyes snapped to meet hers before he let out a small sigh of defeat.

"I know." He paused and smiled at her, the last few weeks of being the command pair of choice was clearly beginning to annoy Jonathan more than he let on. Erika was obviously going to be in the command centre, but he'd been hoping for more simulator time, and she wasn't offended by that. She actually didn't blame him. "So, what are you planning to do tonight?" He asked, and she thought for a minute before deciding on just being honest.

"Take out for dinner, maybe watch a movie on the commnet."

"Anything good showing?" He grinned, and she was fairly sure that their ideas of 'good' were likely to be different. She had a passion for really truly terrible films. The worse the better.

"'Raiders of the Lost Ark' tonight, I think." She recalled from somewhere in the back of her mind, whether that was right or not she didn't have a clue, but it was a good guess regardless. Jonathan got a cheeky grin on his face, and she wondered what had popped up into his mind. "What are you planning, Archer?" She groaned, wondering if he was going to get them into trouble, because he knew by now that pretty much whatever he was planning, she'd help him.

His grin just solidified. "Well, we have the plans for the prototype, and you have a fair engineering mind too, why don't we take them with us, go out for dinner, then back somewhere to watch the movie." She felt a little foolish for assuming he'd have a bad plan, but she also knew that he liked teasing her as much as he could, which was likely where the mischievous grin had come into play this time. It actually sounded like a nice idea, and dinner out would save on dish washing, the chore she hated doing most.

"That sounds like a plan. Let me lock up." She indicated the command centre, and smiled at his nod, at least she was in for an interesting night, if nothing else.


	3. Chapter 3

_**October 13th, 2140** _

She came around the bar to see what the rest of the patrons of the bar were watching this Friday night, and the last thing she had expected had been to see two of the pilots knocking each other about the front of her. The waitress who had become friendly with the team over the last three months came up alongside her, clearly wondering what had started this overly demonstrative display of machismo. "Do you even know what kicked this off?" Ruby asked, elbowing one of the other officers.

"I've not got a clue." She said in Ruby's direction before shouting after Jon and Sam, she figured, unable to think of anything else to do. They were both a fair bit bigger than her. "Hey. Knock it off!"

"Lieutenant?" Ruby asked again, and all Erika could do was look back toward the redhead and shake her head.

"Believe me Ruby I've no more control over them than you do."

"Hey. Knock it off. Will you help" Ruby yelled in the direction of the other officers and pilots who all rushed forward, pulling the two battling officers off of one another, it was clear that they were about ready to go back at each other, should anyone let go. Erika knew that now was the time for her command experience to come in.

"I don't know what you two think you're doing, but how is this going to change anything for either of you?" She asked, and both stopped fighting with the officers holding them, their shoulders slumping as she called them out in front of everyone in the bar. "I get you don't get along and that's fine but leave your pissing match alone and be sensible when you're out in public, or don't associate with each other." She continued scolding, feeling like an old fashioned schoolteacher, scolding a pair of misbehaving children.

"Sorry Erika." Jon mumbled, looking at her feet rather than her face, she looked between him and Sam, wondering if they'd apologise to each other, but maybe that was hoping for too much.

"Yeah, sorry Erika." Sam muttered a moment or so later.

"AG, take Sam home, Jon, come on." She motioned to the obviously slightly out of it pilot before turning back to Ruby who was already clearly making plans for the clean-up she was going to have to do. "Sorry about this, send me the bill and I'll get the money out of these two when they are sober."

Ruby nodded, looking between the group of pilots who were striding toward the door, then she frowned in Erika's direction making it clear that she trusted the Comm officer, but not so much the pilots. "Don't let them do this again, Erika. I'll have to ban next time."

"I understand." Erika agreed, giving Jon a gentle shove in the direction of the street. She made the split second decision to walk back to her place, which was at least on this side of the city, while Jonathan's would require a far longer walk, and she hoped that the cool air would sober him up enough for her to get him to tell her what had happened. A few minutes later she pushed her door open and motioned him through.

"I'm sorry." He said again, this time far clearer than it had been back at the bar, and apparently her plan for walking him had been at least partially successful. He was less bleary, and clearly all but sober now. She filled a bowl with water and grabbed a cloth out of the cupboard, stepping in front of him and dipping the cloth in the cold water, beginning to clean the cuts on the side of his face.

"What did you think you were playing at huh?" She asked quietly, moving forward a little to see the wounds better in the light. She ignored his slight gasp of pain, knowing that was probably more a reaction to the cold water than to anything else.

"He was wrong."

"Was attacking him really necessary?" She questioned, having found out from AG that he'd thrown the first punch. She'd never thought he would do something quite so ridiculous. Apparently today was the day for people proving to her that they could surprise her. All she wanted to know is what had riled Jon up so much, especially in public.

Jon shook his head as she went to dip the cloth again. "E, I didn't know what else to do. I threw the first punch and that was stupid of me." He dropped his head.

"You're right it was, you're lucky Ruby didn't bar you."

"I know. Ouch." He grimaced again, and she noticed the blood still welling, clearly that cut hadn't quite healed in the walk home. She felt a little bad that it had hurt, but in a way he deserved it.

"Sorry, but I need to clean these cuts." She muttered, and noticed his eyes sweeping the apartment around her.

"Where are we?"

She pulled a face, looking at him then grabbing his chin to turn his face back where she needed it to be so she could continue cleaning his face. "My apartment, it was closer than yours, and you need to be asleep sooner rather than later."

"Thank you." he muttered, clearly beginning to feel stupid for his actions back at the club. She looked at him this time, not letting him avoid her eyes. She worried about him, and his position in the programme if Sam complained. It wouldn't look good for him.

"You didn't even drink that much, Jon. This wasn't some random drunken brawl, what happened while I was in the bathroom?"

"I just didn't like the way he was talking." His face contorted into an angry expression for a moment, and she wondered what exactly had been said, though she was certain she would never be told the exact details.

"About?"

"You." He muttered, and she wasn't sure exactly what he was saying.

"Me?"

"Yes. I didn't like what he was saying, what he was implying."

"Well, that was chivalrous of you. Chivalrous, but stupid. I can hold my own Jonathan, you know that. I've spent enough time arguing with you." She laughed a little, she hadn't ever been sure where the 'gentleman' part of the saying 'An officer and a gentleman' had come in until she met Jonathan. He'd always go out of his way to stop the mistreatment of people, and it was quite an endearing quality. She looked up to him, and caught his eyes. She'd never really spent the time to appreciate his eyes before.

"That doesn't mean I'm going to let Sam or AG or the others get away with saying that stuff." He put his hand over hers and took the cloth from her, putting it on the table.

"Jonathan-" She whispered, but she couldn't help reacting to the way he was looking at her. As he pulled her closer she wondered if her willingness was to do with what she'd drunk, or the fact that she had been attracted to him since they'd met. His hand slid along her cheek and into her hair as he pulled her to him. The moment their lips met her argument with herself seemed to fly out of the window, her arms found their way around his neck as he pulled her even closer, flattening her against his chest. His hand tangling in her hair as the other slid to the small of her back, moulding her against him as he deepened the kiss. She sighed then seemed to come back to herself and realised what she was doing. What they were doing, and it was something that she probably shouldn't let continue.

The last thing she wanted to do was break this, but she knew that this wasn't what they should have been doing, they were friends and colleagues, they were the command team, and she couldn't let this go on. She enjoyed the kiss a second longer before she pulled back a little.

"E?" He asked, his arms still wrapped around her as she stepped away just a little. As she looked at him she suddenly wanted to jump back into his arms, but she had more self-control than that.

"We shouldn't Jon. This is just because we've both drunk a lot tonight. Let's go to sleep."

"I'm sorry." His face fell, studying her for a second. It was clear he thought she regretted that kiss.

"Don't be, I'm not." She doubted she would ever be sorry for that, even if nothing came of it, she now knew that at least their feelings were mutual. She blinked away the urge to step forward again, and instead turned to the cupboard where she kept the spare blankets, passing one to him.

"Erika, I know there is too much for us to act on what we feel, what we could feel, but at least tell me that the feeling is mutual?"

"I thought I'd already made that clear, Jon." She smiled, this time she did move forward, placing a small peck on his cheek before retreating again. She waved to him from the doorway to the bedroom. Climbing into bed, alone again, she wished for a moment that she hadn't stopped where things were going, if only so she wouldn't have spent the night alone.


	4. Chapter 4

_**January 2141** _

The conference room was full to the rafters, and he hadn't felt quite so nervous about making a speech in his life, the fact that Sam Gardner was the other pilot picked to present the NX prototype, design by the pilots and engineers, though he had taken the initial speech that had been recommended and added a line about Erika's involvement, it seemed that even the brass forgot about the comm officer. He had been determined that her contribution wouldn't be forgotten. As Forrest stepped forward from the dias and motioned to the front row where the NX team were sitting, he began to panic. Erika quietly took his hand and squeezed in a show of friendly support at Forrest spoke, "Lieutenant Archer, Lieutenant Gardner, you are the ones making this presentation."

They both stood up, and he smiled at Erika, grateful for a second that he had her support. "Thank you, Commodore." He said as Forrest passed them, making his way for the seat beside Erika that Jon had just vacated.

He didn't remember giving the speech, or helping Sam point out the various design elements, he remembered that it seemed to go well, seeing as everyone had spent the afternoon congratulating him. Now though he was trying, desperately, to forget that he had no reason to go home yet. He had work to do on the new cockpit design for the prototype, and while the hangar was empty he'd hope he could get as much done as possible on it. That was until he heard a familiar footfall. She would be the only other person in the building this late, she never seemed to leave until after everyone else unless they were going on a group night out.

Over the last 6 months he'd gotten to know her pretty well, maybe a little too well when it came to the ill-advised make out session they'd had a few months earlier, something they had both pushed to the back of their mind, though sometimes it popped up in his at the least opportune moments, like right now. He tried to clear his mind as she appeared in his doorway, a smile on her face as it always was when she actually found him still in the office and had to usher him out.

"Do you ever leave?" He muttered, clearly loud enough for her to hear judging by the smirk on her face.

"What are you doing here Jon?" She asked, and he could tell she was just ignoring his question and coming around his desk leaning over his shoulder.

"Working on the cockpit designs, There is so much that we can do to improve the current design. I just don't like the layout." He looked to the side and saw her studying the design, he wondered what her input would be on the originals, and then maybe he could show her his design, the one he hadn't shown anyone yet.

She began to scowl at the original blueprints, and it was pretty obvious that she wasn't impressed. "It is a little counter intuitive, I'm just a comm officer, but wouldn't it make more sense to have the thruster controls near the impulse drive?" He looked to where her finger pointer, at an issue he hadn't even noticed before, but she was absolutely right, the two control systems would do much better when displayed together.

"It would, I hadn't even noticed that, you should stay and help me." He grinned, looking at her sideways as she looked to him with a laugh before shaking her head.

"What are you even doing here?" She asked, and he shook his head, not really wanting to be honest about why he was there, she didn't need to know.

"I wanted to work on these designs." He tried to make the point, as if he hadn't had enough time over the last week.

"Its a Friday night, in the last 6 months I've not seen you stay this late. You've always had somewhere to be, some girl to shack up with for the weekend?" She teased, and he felt he face fall, hers very quickly following it. He didn't want to make her feel bad, she had just been teasing him, like they all did.

"We broke up." He muttered, and he saw the confusion on her face, and he found himself wishing that she hadn't asked him, or that he hadn't been honest about it. "Mala and I, we broke up." He clarified, wanting to make sure she knew what he meant, not that it was a secret he'd met someone, they hadn't been together long enough for her to meet anyone on the project.

"You hadn't been seeing her long though?" Erika asked, and he could sense just a hint of jealousy in her voice, it was probably the same tone he'd have if she was seeing someone though. He had met Mala just after Erika had shot him down, and she had been the opposite, which was pretty much exactly why he'd gone for her. Mala figured it out, and ending things had been the best course of action. "You still shouldn't throw yourself into work, it's not always the healthiest thing to do." She pulled at his arm, trying to get him stood up, and he grabbed the design padds as she succeeded, and he followed her out of the room.

"I want to get the designs finished." He complained, but only halfheartedly as Erika hit all the lights as she still pushed him with one hand.

"Well, I'm locking up. You don't have to go home but you can't stay here." He turned round to see the grin on her face as she finally got him out of the main door so she could lock up. "I always wanted to say that."

"Erika..." He complained, but it was quite clear that she wasn't going to let him get away with anything, including hiding away to get over his break-up. He tried giving her a puppy look, but wasn't entirely sure that he pulled it off.

That was confirmed a second later when she put her hands on her hips and fixed him with a withering look. "It's not going to work Jon. Come on, I'm planning to get take out from Foos and watch the boats on the water for a while, why don't you join me?" He looked at her as she invited him to join her for take-out. He thought about it, and there was no reason he shouldn't join her.

"I think I can do that. Are you sure? I'm not interrupting any of your best laid plans, am I?" He asked, never really sure what she did on weekends when they weren't with the project.

"Not tonight, I do this every Friday when the entire team doesn't go out, it's refreshing and it reminds me a little of home."

"I didn't think they had bays out in New Mexico." He laughed, wondering how that worked, and he was glad that she started giving him a similar grin in return.

"They don't, but I used to get take-out and watch the stars out in the desert back home. It's too bright in the city to stargaze, so watching the boats on the river is the closest I get. It would be nice to have some company." She explained, and he realised that she really did want him to join her, on something that was obviously a private tradition.

"Well, you can count me in then." He smiled, and followed her out, at least he wouldn't be alone thinking about his problems.


	5. Chapter 5

_**June 2141** _

She handed her companion a second bottle of beer and sat back next to him, her eyes scanning the street in front of her. She had found herself a nice little place to live when she'd bought this apartment a year earlier. "This is nice." Jon said, his eyes clearly meaning the situation alongside her street. Wednesday's were rarely days where they could do this.

"I have to agree, it's not often we get a weekday afternoon off." She agreed, not entirely sure why they'd been given the day off, she wondered if the Admiral's were showing the Vulcans' round again, that was generally why they were told they could take the day, until the prototype arrived there was little to really show the Vulcans that hadn't already been shown.

Jon chuckled, shaking his head as he did. Indicating the padds that were abandoned in the bag in front of him. The design specs they'd been asked to go over. Conveniently forgotten in favour of talking and beer. "No, we're normally slaving over some plans. I wonder why they decided the NX teams deserved today off?"

"Maybe because most of us haven't taken any leave in a year." She said pointedly, the only one who had actually taken leave had been Williams, who Jon had a rather fierce rivalry with that had started on the first day of the project, the two had even come to blows several months earlier. A day she didn't necessarily want to think about, as it led to a blush crawling up her cheeks that she couldn't control.

"Yeah, it's been a year. Hard to believe." He looked up to the sky, where the faint outline of Utopia Planitia shipyards were visible, even during the height of daylight hours, so massive was the structure in geosynchronous orbit above Starfleet's capital city.

She took the moment to study the man by her side. There was so much about him she didn't know, despite the fact she classed him as one of her very best friends, and one of the only people she had let in past the surface. While she knew that he would probably answer anything she asked, she still felt awkward at times. Today seemed like the perfect day to work on getting to know him better, and maybe trying to work on and even closer level with him. " Jon, I've been meaning to ask you something?"

"Yeah?" He replied, her voice clearly bringing him back from whatever planet he'd mentally been settled on.

She grasped her bottle a little tighter even as she turned to face him a little clearer. "What brought you to Starfleet?"

He shrugged, and it was clear at first that he wasn't entirely sure how to answer her, or maybe he was reminding himself that she was a friend. He had always kept his walls high, and she was only just beginning to peer over the top of them. "The same as you, I'd guess." He sighed, and again she wondered if the enquiry was more personal than he'd expected, but he didn't stop, instead it became clear he was still thinking on his answer. "I wanted to explore. I wanted to make the universe a better place, and discover where humanity's place was." He smiled, and it was almost too hard for her not to smile too. "My dad always wanted me to be an explorer, always. When I was a kid that's what we'd talk about. It was something he spoke about a lot before he died." He took on a relatively pensive look, she placed her hand on his knee in a supportive gesture.

"I heard about that, Clarke's disease wasn't it?" She remembered hearing once at the project, she'd never been great at warp design, so she hadn't known that the designer of the engine they were building was Jon's father until she'd been told.

"Yeah. I was 12. So, I signed up to Starfleet for him, even though he died before Starfleet was chartered. Why did you sign up?" He asked, looking in her direction, and now it was her time to think, she knew why she joined Starfleet, but it sounded so crass and mechanical after his beautiful description.

She shrugged a little, as his eyes followed her, and she thought of how to word her answer. "I wanted to go to college, I couldn't afford it without signing up with either Starfleet or the MACOs. Science was my love, so Starfleet seemed the better fit." She smiled as she remembered something her father had told her in the weeks after her acceptance. "It wasn't until I'd signed up that my dad told me I used to talk about visiting all of the stars in the sky when I was a kid." She laughed again as they both lapsed into silence, just drinking their bottles and occasionally waving to Erika's neighbours.

After a while she felt Jon turn toward her again, and after a few minutes she could tell he was wondering something, almost hearing the cogs turning in his mind. "Erika?" He muttered, and it was obvious that he was thinking.

"Yeah?"

"Why do you even put up with the pilots." She gave him a questioning look, wondering what on Earth he could mean by that. It wasn't as if she could get up and leave. Her job was to put up with them. Unless he meant socially. "We're not exactly nice to you all the time."

"You're always nice to me." She shook her head, still a little confused as to what he meant, and she wasn't going to answer something she didn't get.

He smiled a little before trying to expand. "I'm not just talking about me, I mean Sam and AG and-" She figured out what he mean, the jokes that went beyond jokes.

"I know, Jonathan." She smiled, trying to convince him that she was fine with it, generally. Sometimes things bugged her, but more often than not she could ignore them, and focus on the job. Though she had been given another offer, and maybe talking that idea over with him might help her make the decision. "I've actually been thinking about changing teams. There is an opening on the UT project that I've been offered."

The look on his face told her far more about that idea than his words ever would. "Are you going to take it?" He asked, and she thought that maybe her best answer would be the truth.

"I don't know, should I?"

"I don't think I'd want you to go. You're the only person on the team I've really connected with, I mean I'm friends with the others but-" He trailed off and squeezed the hand that was still resting on his knee, "you're the only one I'd sit on a stoop with drinking beer at 4pm on a Wednesday afternoon."

"Jonathan Archer, it's the way we roll." She grinned and clinked her bottle to his. The two lapsed into a companionable silence, watching the kids playing in the park across the street from her building. It was the first time she'd really focused on them, on what living here actually was. "Jon, do you ever wonder if officers like us can ever have happy families?" She wasn't sure why the question had occurred to her, but it was something she had been thinking about.

"I'm hoping to have a Ben or Kate Archer one day, regardless of where my career takes me. I want a family." He smiled and nudged her ever so slightly. "I want to have that to look forward to. People who are happy for me to come home every time I get leave. Who'll be here when I need someone to cheer me on."

She grinned, watching his face light up as he talked about a possible future family, she wasn't sure she would ever get that chance herself though. "That's a nice dream. I hope you get that one day."

"What about you?"

"I think I've all but given up on the hopes of children, maybe even a family. I don't know. I'm 25, almost 26. I haven't had a serious relationship in 7 years, there isn't anyone on the horizon, and I'm too dedicated to my career to actually search." She smiled a little, realising she'd made herself sound like a spinster, and needing to make a joke to lighten it again. "I'm also really annoying."

"I've never found you annoying."

"You're not sleeping with me." She grinned in response. Knowing what was coming.

"Not yet." He teased with a wink and she shook her head. Ever since she'd admitted while drunk that he was the only pilot on the team that she'd consider sleeping with it had become their standing joke, something that was just for the two of them to laugh about, never around anyone else, but alone they would tease each other about it. She went back to sipping her beer and imagining what her life would be like if it took a drastically different direction to the one she envisioned. She looked to Jonathan and wondered for just a moment if he was following a similar train of thought. Maybe it was something she shouldn't have brought up, because now all she could think about was how adorable any kids of Jon's would be.


	6. Chapter 6

**_October 2141_ **

She came round the corner, and as was usual the last few days she looked like there was something bothering her. For now he didn't have the heart to confront her about it, but maybe it would be time, if it could get him out of going to this press call, he'd probably thank her. He looked up when her glare got too intense to ignore. He didn't say anything, just looked up at her. After a few minutes she spoke, and in her voice he could tell that she wasn't going to help him avoid the call. "What the hell are you doing?"

He held her gaze, until the fact she could go so long without blinking actually worried him a little. "Hiding." He replied honestly, knowing better than to try and lie to her, she always saw through him anyway.

"I'm not letting you hide."

He groaned and motioned in the direction of the main hangar, trying to go back to the report he'd been reading about the progress of the NX prototype that was being built in Switzerland. Why they had sent the work to Switzerland he still didn't know, but he had been assured it was for the best. He could hear the other pilot getting his promotion talking loudly, and he was happy to let AG have it. "Let AG take the glory."

Erika seemed like she was ready for that particular argument, and that it wasn't going to wash on her. "He'll take it too, that doesn't mean I'm gonna let you hide away."

"Erika-" He moaned, but she put her hands on her hips, the view of her reminding him of one of his grade school teachers who had caught him doing something he shouldn't have been.

"Jonathan Beckett Archer, I can make this so much more embarrassing for you than you'd like." She got a slight evil grin on her face, and suddenly he knew exactly what she was going to do, not that it wouldn't cause her a fair amount of embarrassment, he had learnt that she had so little shame.

"You wouldn't." He muttered, but already she was leaning out of the door.

The moment she opened her mouth he knew she'd do it, and he made the move. "Oh I would. Hey every-" He slid up next to her and put a hand over her mouth, stopping in front of her, shaking his head as he did.

"Fine, I'm coming." He said, even leading out of the door, she pulled it shut behind her and fell into step alongside him. "There are moments when I hate you, you know that right?" He said, hoping that she wasn't going to do this every time he was expected on a press call. He would more than likely refuse to do them, he just wanted to do his job with a minimum of fuss.

Erika's face split into a sadistic grin. "It's come up once or twice, yes."

"I can't believe you found out my middle name."

"And I have every intention to use it at every opportunity you give me."

"Erika, why?" He complained, already knowing that she used it for one reason, the fact that she was a sadist.

"Because I can. Look who finally came out of his office."

He mouthed an 'I hate you' in her direction, and all he got back was a bright smile and the words 'love you too'. He shook his head, but allowed himself to be swept away by the crowd of officers and press who had come out to join them on the day that the project was being focused on in the press. He posed with AG for the photographs, all the while planning ways he could torture Erika Hernandez in retaliation.

When he was finally allowed back in the building, his first intention was to hunt her down and either thank her and murder her, and depending on her reaction, he might just do both. She had seemed touchier the last few days, and he didn't know why. Maybe it was time he asked her about her mood. While she was teasing and joining in activities, she was spending more time in her office, and more time away from everyone else. He rounded the corner and saw her office door was open, he slid in, and was surprised to see her sat at the desk, a tissue in her hand.

"Erika?"

"Jon. I-" She trailed off and shook her head, turning the chair so she was hidden in shadow again. That sight had been the last thing he'd expected when he came into the room.

"Are you crying?" He asked, shutting and locking the door behind him.

"No, it's raining on my face." She deflected, and he knew there was something wrong. While she was often defensive, she rarely sounded so sad and hostile at the same time. He walked round her desk, kneeling in front of her, knowing the forcing her to look at him was going to be the key to this.

"What is it?" He tried again, leaning underneath her, she just looked away, and he took hold of the hand that was on her knee.

"It's nothing."

"I don't believe you." He muttered, and suddenly he saw the break in her wall, that one tiny crack that led to the outpouring.

Her tears started again as she began speaking. "My father's been ill, the last few days, he's been in the medical centre down in Roswell, it's the closest to where they live. They don't expect him to make it." He remembered how close she'd been to her father almost her entire life. He had been the reason she'd joined Starfleet, and he was the one who supported her in everything she had every wanted. He had joined Starfleet because his father had wanted him to be an explorer, and that was almost the exact same reason as Erika. He couldn't think why she was still there, in San Francisco, when she was clearly needed back home.

"Why the hell are you still here?"

She shook her head and pulled another tissue from her stash on her desk. "I can't just leave now Jon, I'm due to start on the UT project part-time on Monday."

He stood up and pulled her to her feet, making sure she was steady before he stepped away a little. "Erika, they can do without you. It's Friday afternoon, why don't I take you down there, we can be back for Monday morning. You need to see him." He hoped that offering to go with her would be seen as the friendly gesture he meant it to be. He knew that sometimes, going home for sad reasons was hard to face, especially when it included the death of someone close to you.

"I don't think I can, Jon." She shook her head again, and he lifted her chin so she had to meet his eyes, at least on this point he could speak from experience.

"Not seeing my father before he died is one of the biggest regrets I have, you shouldn't miss this opportunity, and I'll go with you."

"Are you sure?" She asked again, and he just shook his head, the worry might be more that he wouldn't actually have anywhere to stay if he did take her. But he was sure they could work that out one way or another.

"I'm sure your mom or someone will have somewhere I can stay?"

"Thank you, Jonathan." She whispered and threw her arms around her, he felt her tears against his neck, but he knew she needed the support of a friend right now.


	7. Chapter 7

_**January 2142** _

The group sat around their usual backroom at the 602 club, and it wasn't entirely surprising that their room was rowdier than the main bar. Celebrating the successful completion of the first NX prototype, with a second being ordered, and the group had been enjoying a few hours. AG was, as usual, leading the group, it was always between him and Jonathan for who commanded the missions, and while it seemed appropriate that they all celebrate together. She was watching the celebrations more than anything, glad that the team had something to celebrate after 18-months of setbacks. She was still just studying everyone as AG stood up once again, clearly looking in her direction. "Hey, hey, we're all celebrating the cockpit design and the prototype design, how about we toast our little moonlighter, Lieutenant Hernandez, who just had her translation matrix added to the universal translator designs."

She felt the flush rising in her face as everyone looked and raised their glass in her direction, she tried not to laugh as everyone echoed her name, "Lieutenant Hernandez," was echoed around the room and she shook her head, not quite sure she'd deserved her own toast.

"Thanks everyone, it's not quite on the same level of achievement though." She started, but she was quickly stopped by others starting talking, and Jonathan leaning over towards her.

"I don't know. I think it's pretty impressive." He muttered, taking another sip of his drink, she looked at him in disbelief as the teasing smirk climbed up his cheeks.

"Thanks Jon." She laughed and looked out of the window at the dark treetops alongside the club. "I'm thinking of leaving soon, actually. Leave the pilots to celebrate." She smiled, already beginning to gather up the few things she had with her, sliding them back into one of her pockets.

She was surprised when Jon stood up beside her and smiled to everyone else before muttering in her ear. "It's winding down here. Can I walk you home?"

She looked at him with a hint of suspicion, not sure why he'd have suddenly decided to walk her home when the opposite was clearly true about the pilots and the few engineers who were still hanging around the back bar. She didn't really feel like walking alone though, and if Jon was offering, well she couldn't see the harm. "Um, sure. See you guys Monday." She said loudly to the rest of the group, prompting a sea of goodbyes thrown in her direction.

"Yeah, yeah. See you Monday, big ears." She laughed at the affectionate nickname given to her by the pilots when she'd started doing double duty with the UT project that was housed in the adjacent hangar. Jon held the door for her as they stepped out, the March air a little colder than she'd expected caused her to wince a little. He looked at her a minute before she lead the way back toward her apartment only a few blocks away.

"So, you got the matrix working?" He asked after a few seconds of silence, and a few grabs at each other to stop from falling over, either from drink or the uneven path they walked on. She smiled up at him with a nod, glad that someone had remembered exactly what the issue she'd been having with the translator had been.

Expanding on it may be too much for either of their current conditions, however. "It needed a refractive algorithm adding. Once I identified the problem it wasn't huge to fix, just fiddly to get it right. You got the cockpit design you wanted?" She asked, turning into her street.

Jonathan's smile grew, and she enjoyed seeing that smile on his face, it was full of pride, something she didn't get to see all that often, as he would tend to back down. He had learnt not to do that in the last few months though, and seeing the change come to fruition made her happy. "Commander Jeffries agreed that maybe my design was better, I didn't know he was going to use it until today though." He shrugged, stopping in front of her door. She felt the tension sparking between them, not that it had been the first time they'd been alone, or even semi-drunk together, but this time felt different, and she couldn't put her finger on why.

She fidgeted on the doorstep for a minute, before deciding to take the leap. "Would you like to come in?" She smiled, motioning over her shoulder as she met his eyes. She didn't even really need to ask, as he moved closer to her. The door wasn't even shut before he'd pulled her into him. She hadn't thought anything of "them" since the kiss they'd shared back toward the beginning of the programme, but she'd drunk just enough to accept that sometimes she needed to let go, and that included with him. She kissed him back equally as hard as he had started, the urgency growing as she pushed his jacket off and to the floor.

He pulled back a little and she felt him studying her face, last time he had kissed her she had pulled away, and she was fairly sure she'd really hurt him that day, he'd been trying to tell her in his roundabout way that he loved her even then. This time she just reached up and stroked the side of his face gently with her thumb before pulling him close again. His hands dropped her jacket to the floor, and within seconds they were both feeling for the zips on the others' jumpsuits.

She grinned as he picked her up and pressed her against the wall, both their uniforms falling to the floor. "Are you sure about this?" He asked quietly, almost directly into her ear, even as his hands held her up. She wrapped her legs around him and kissed him again, more gently, her hand coming up against his cheek, she just smiled at him, shaking her head at his thinking she might have let anything get this far without being sure it was something she wanted.

She leant forward slightly so that she was pressed against him tighter and whispered in his ear. "I've never been more sure of anything in my life." She ended that thought with a playful nip at his neck, it seemed that was the challenge for him, he secured her in his arms and they made their way toward her bedroom, banging into the walls and furniture as they did. Not that she minded right now. She'd be able to clear everything in the morning.

All thought left her mind as they hit the bed, she was focused completely on the moment and it was clear he was too. Their movements becoming more erratic the longer they were there, she screamed his name as she built to a peak and she fell asleep with his arms wrapped around her, listening to the things he was whispering in her ear.

She woke up feeling content the next morning, still wrapped in his arms. It took her a moment to remember where they were, and who she was with. She rolled over in his arms, meeting his eyes for the first time and giving him a little grin. "Well, that was unexpected."

"Was it?" He asked, and it was clear from his face that he genuinely meant that. She understood why too, they were both flirty people, and their mutual attraction had been pretty obvious since the day they met.

"Neither of us made a move in over a year, Jon." She sighed, wanting to pull him closer but not wanting to overstep any boundaries, if they even had any left.

"Erika, it was inevitable." He smiled, and gently ran his fingers over her stomach.

"Well-" She trailed off, looking at him, it was hard not to lean forward and kiss him again, but she still thought this was a bad idea. The two of them had far too much riding on them still, and she wasn't sure what she wanted. "I don't think we should do it again. You're my superior." She suddenly remembered, his promotion still recent enough that it has escaped both their minds.

She saw his face fall just a little, but he nodded a second later, clearly going through a similar thought process to her. "You're right, it was a one off."

"Does it count as a one-off if we waste the morning?" She asked, only half joking. She didn't want to let him go, and she guessed from the way his arm tensed below her head he was in much the same position.

"I think it could." He grinned as he caught her meaning, rolling over on top of her again, maybe this was a one off, or something else similar, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to take an opportunity that was presented to her, especially when it seemed as though they had put the brakes on them ever waking up together again, she might as well take advantage while she could.


	8. Chapter 8

_**April 2142** _

He hadn't had to chase a woman out of a briefing quite that quickly in a very long time, but after the barely contained annoyance that had even had some of the other pilots lifting eyebrows. He knew that he hadn't done the smartest things on the last test, and that had annoyed her, but it wasn't the first time he'd gone off-script, and she'd never reacted to him like this. He couldn't completely blame her though, he had been holding her at an arms' length recently, and maybe that had contributed to this. He caught up to her outside the hangar office, putting his hand on the door before she had time to slam it in his face. He stood over the desk as she sat down, clearly making out as if she was going to ignore him. "Why are you pissed at me?"

"I'm not pissed at you." Her answer clearly didn't even sound genuine to her own ears, but she continued looking at the padd she was holding, obviously trying her best to ignore him, or lie to herself about her feelings. He didn't know which, and that worried him. After a few minutes longer of him just staring at her, she put the padd down and spoke again. "I was, but I'm not now."

That didn't really clear the matter up much, but he was aware they were still in public, it wasn't as if she'd gone to her office, where this confrontation might have been easier to have. "OK, why were you pissed at me?" He asked, trying to keep her attention away from the padds while not drawing attention to them, it was harder than he expected. But after another few seconds she looked up at him and he could see something snap just behind her eyes.

"Can you not just follow your damn orders Jon?" She growled, and he was slightly taken aback by how aggressive she sounded.

"I can, sometimes I just don't like too." He frowned, trying to make a joke to break the tension between them. She looked away again and stood up, walking out into the main part of the hangar. Thankfully for him, there were very few people around today. "Look, Erika, I know things haven't been great between us since, you know, but I don't want that to define us. Please just, talk to me normally again." He wanted everything to be normal between them again, even if he knew that maybe wasn't necessarily possible.

The way she span round and started tapping her foot reminded him that she was still annoyed with her. "Jon, I've a lot of work to do." She muttered, he just stepped a little closer to her, knowing that this needed to be a turning point, one way or another.

"Please?" He asked again, and finally her face broke into a small smile. He couldn't help but return it, realising that was the first time he'd seen her smile in a couple of months, maybe she was doing too much working on two projects.

She sighed and leant against the wall they were stood beside, crossing her arms across her chest before she stifled a yawn.. "I promise you, we're fine, I've just been busy, especially now."

"We're all busy." He muttered, not sure if he was willing to let her off that easily.

"I know. I'm just taking my stress out on you, because you've been an easy target. I'm sorry" She reached out and rubbed his arm, he smiled a little, even though he wasn't sure where exactly he stood with her, at least she'd admitted she'd been treating him differently. " Everyone is planning on going out tonight, we're going to Tommy's place rather than the 602, you should join us."

His face fell, and maybe the fragile peace they'd just made was about to be shattered again. Not that he really expected Erika to be that petty. It had been three months, and neither of them had made a move, sticking to the agreement they'd made when he'd finally left her apartment that night. He couldn't say he hadn't thought about it, but they had both decided it was best. "I've got a date, Rebecca." He saw the subtle change in her stance, and he regretted that he hadn't taken her aside before to tell her he'd met someone. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before."

"How long have you been seeing her?" The fake casual of her request reminded him that

"A couple of months or so." At the look on her face he pulled her more off to the side, neither of them needed anyone to overhear this conversation. There was enough gossip about the two of them as it was, he didn't want to add any more to it. "Erika, you agreed that-"

"I know what I agreed to. I just didn't think you'd, you know." She cut him off, and it was clear that she remembered the discussion they'd had at the end of their night together about responsibility. The awkwardness in her voice told him she really hadn't expected him to find someone so quickly.

"Find someone I was interested in?" He asked, more for clarification than anything.

"That's not what I meant, you're never short of admirers. But so quickly after us." She waved a hand between them, and hall he did was catch the hand and hold it still. He didn't want to try and force the issue any more.

"I really am sorry I can't come tonight."

"Its fine Jon. Have fun." She took her hand away from him, and that was that. She was off and halfway across the hangar before he'd even realised entirely that she'd left.

"Erika!" He shouted after her, but she was already in her office. He knew he should have told her before, but he hadn't had chance. He'd probably have to pick what he wanted more soon, not because Erika would make him, she wouldn't, he knew that. In a few days she'd be back to teasing him like usual, but he knew that it was hard for any girl to get used to the fact their boyfriend spent more than half his time with another woman. The worrying thing was that he'd almost definitely choose Erika, even when he knew there was no real chance of anything happening between them, because for the last almost 2 years she'd been his best friend, and that was something he couldn't lose.


	9. Chapter 9

_**November 2142** _

He hadn't seen her in hours, and in that time his annoyance had risen. Was this because of him, because of Rebecca? He hoped not, because that would be really low. She kept telling him she was alright, and she was happy for him, but he could tell in her eyes that at least half the time she was lying. He waited until she was on her own, at which point he pulled her behind the NX Alpha, out of sight of everyone else. He knew that it wasn't something they should talk about where people could see them. "When were you going to tell me?"

He looked at her, and the level of confusion on her face didn't seem to be made up, he was amazed that she could do that so well. "What?" She asked, and he was surprised he'd need to spell it out for her.

"You've been transferred!" He said in a voice slightly louder than a whisper. He saw AG peek round the corner of the prototype, but he disappeared and Jon looked back to Erika's face. She looked like she was trying to process something very quickly in her mind. He watched her as she slowly started shaking her head.

"What? No I haven't." She held her hand up toward him, but he backed away and pulled the latest mission list from behind his back. Out of everyone on the project, her name was the only one not on it.

He pressed the list into her hands, motioning down to it. "Look. You're not on the mission list!" He hissed again, no longer even sure why he was angry, considering it seemed to be as big a surprise to her as it had been to her.

She shook her head again, folding the list up and sliding it into one of her pockets before she looked up to him again. "No. This has to be a mistake. Let me talk to Forrest." She ran off round the corner of the ship, he followed at a much slower pace, and pause where he could just see her through the window, it looked like she was making an impassioned plea to him, but judging by the commodore's face she wasn't succeeding. He shook his head, and even from this distance he could see the slump in Erika's shoulders. It looked like regardless she was going to be transferred.

She made her way over toward him again, and he felt his anger at her completely evaporate, and suddenly the anger was all toward whoever had reassigned her without any warning. It was going to change a lot about the whole team, they'd gotten used to the way Erika worked, learning a new comm officers foibles wasn't going to be easy. "Well?" He prompted, the moment she was in comfortable speaking range. She pointed back behind the ship, where he met her a second later.

He saw the anger in her countenance, and it was obvious in that moment that she was all but shaking with suppressed rage. She didn't manage to hide it as well in her voice, nor in the frustrated sigh she let escape her lips. "I've been transferred. They need a new language specialist on the UT project, I'm the only one available who is on Earth. Forrest was going to talk to me after everyone left tonight." She shook her head, and it was obvious that not only was she angry with Forrest and Lawrence, who oversaw the UT project, she was hurt by the way he'd treated her.

His own anger at Forrest and Lawrence prevented him thinking clearly, but he couldn't debate their points. Erika was a fantastic linguist, and if her skills were needed elsewhere, could he really blame them for taking her. "So they take you and leave us with someone who won't get it."

"Forrest said it was only temporary, a few months at most, and I'll only be in the next room." She shook her head, and clearly she didn't believe the platitudes either. They were both sure that she had worked her last day on the Warp 5 project.

"Not the same Erika, I know you've done work for the UT team before, but they swore they weren't trying to poach you." He sighed, leaning against the ship as he tried to convince himself that they could make do without her. He didn't think he'd be the only one who had problems with this. He would have to call a meeting of the pilots for the following day, if they put in a protest now maybe they could ensure Erika was back before the next series of tests.

She sighed and shook her head, almost as if she could sense his thoughts, and she knew that he would want to do something about it. "Jon, it's done. What say do I really have in it. I go where I'm sent."

He stopped thinking about himself and looked over to her. He wasn't sure what was bothering her more, but he knew he owed her an apology, especially in this circumstance, he felt like an idiot, and if he was lucky she'd forgive him, just like she had so many times before. "I'm sorry, about how I spoke to you before." He said quietly as others came around the side of the prototype.

She leant against the ship, looking up at him. It was obvious that she wasn't going to hold a grudge about it, and he wondered again why she put up with him. She was almost certainly too good for him, maybe that was why he ran away every time things seemed more than platonic. After a few minutes studying him she opened her mouth, and he realised her thoughts had been in the same place as his. The last time she'd almost transferred, after she'd found out about Rebecca. "You thought I was running away from you again. Like I almost did in April."

"Yeah. Promise me something?" He said suddenly, the surprise showed on her face again, and it was a nice shock for him to finally be the one surprising her.

"OK?" She replied somewhat uncertainly.

"Promise we'll still have dinner together. Once a week?" He watched the mixture of emotions play on her face, he could probably have named them all if he'd felt the need. It seemed to settle on an amused smirk.

"What would your girlfriend think of that?"

Rebecca would hate it, she already hated that he spent as much time with Erika as he did. "I could care less. I've known you longer." He said honestly. Whatever he might have with Rebecca would need to get through the fact that Erika was probably his best friend, in every sense of the word, when he had a bad day she was the one he called, in the more than 7 months they'd been together it had never been Rebecca. Had he ever told Erika that she was his best friend. He couldn't remember, and he was certain that one way or another that would be the thing that swung it for him, one way or another. "Please, Erika. I've told you before, you're my best friend. I don't want you to think that changes just because you'll be on another project." He would have begged if he had too, but she reached out, placing a hand on his arm, stopping him worrying more.

"I wouldn't, Jon. Look. This will all work out. It will. It might just take longer than we think. I'll still be the first one to bust your butt if you do something stupid." The grin that spread across her face was enough to convince him she meant it. She knew that he was still there for her, regardless.

"You are good at doing that." He laughed, shaking his head.

"I should be, I've had 2 and a half years of practice. I need to go and clean out my office." She started walking away, and he realised they hadn't set a time or place for the next time they were going to meet. Even though she was now halfway across the hangar he turned and shouted her.

"Erika."

"What?" She shouted back, her hands cupped around her mouth.

"Friday night, the theatre on Roosevelt. 9pm. Don't be late."

"It's a date." She yelled, and he felt his face split into a grin, it didn't matter that he would have to cancel with Rebecca for that night, and probably every Friday night afterward, because he'd made the decision now that Friday night was going to be the night he and Erika decompressed from work as friends. Until she was back on the right team.


	10. Chapter 10

_**March 2143** _

She knew the footsteps as they approached her on the support platform above the NX hangar, as usual she had come up here on her break to think. There was so much had happened during her two weeks of leave, and it still felt strange not to have the first prototype in the hangar with her twin. She had heard about AG's disaster with the first prototype, and she'd heard that a second run was successful. She was hoping that Jonathan would be able to give her some more information on it. It was rare that a comm specialist felt out of the loop. She jumped a little as his hand connected with her back, having not realised exactly how close he was. She smiled and turned to him as he started speaking. "Hey you."

"Hey," she smiled, looking to him then away back out over the hangar, "did I miss anything while I was gone?" She asked a little sarcastically, and she saw Jon's headshake out of the corner of her eye.

"Not much." He leant over the side of the walkway. Bringing his hands out in front of him, almost completely mirroring her stance. "Sam got locked in the store cupboard. Oh, and I'm suspended." The all too casual delivery of the fact he was suspended made her nod and smile for a second before the words sunk in.

"Wait, what?"

"AG too." He added, and she shook her head turning to him in complete confusion. Why would the two highest ranked pilots be suspended at the same time. It didn't make any sense, until she thought about it more.

It dawned on her that maybe the second test was something to do with their suspension. "What the fuck did you two do?"

He shrugged, and the grin on his face told her that he didn't regret what had happened, not at all and probably hadn't even for a second. "We may or may not have stolen the NX Beta." He shrugged, it was all she could do not to turn round and slap him around the head at that moment.

"Why?!"

Suddenly he got quite defensive, and she shook her head at him as he turned to her. His voice rising just a little. "To prove a point, the project was nearly cancelled!"

"I was in New Mexico Jon, I still got the news." She shook her head, of course she had got that part of the news. Samantha had called her almost the minute that people had been told, and Erika remembered pacing angrily around her brothers' living room ranting about the unfairness of what the Vulcans were doing by recommending that to Starfleet.

"We made it to 2.5." He muttered, clearly trying to diffuse her anger by proving to her that he had done it with the best of intentions. She didn't entirely blame him, it was his fathers engine, and if it were here, she'd probably have fought just as hard.

She took a deep breath and let the annoyance out with it, then turned back to him, the big question on her mind was who would be running any of the tests until he was back. "How long are you suspended for?"

He looked at her as if she had grown another head, but there was little she could do to prevent asking the questions."From flying? Three months."

"It's gonna be a long and shitty three months for you." She burst out laughing suddenly, the humour of the situation settling on her shoulders.

"It was worth it. Even the engineer who helped agreed with that. He was given a more lenient sentence than us. 2 weeks." She wasn't surprised at that, he was probably a junior engineer, and Commander Jeffries was always good to his officers, they were the best he could find, so if he had only got a minimal suspension he either hadn't done much or he was the best.

She shook her head and looked at him out of the corner of her eye again, she realised now what she wanted more than anything, and that was to be based out of this hangar again. Not that the UT project didn't have it's own challenges, she missed the camaraderie with the pilots, and everything else that came with being on the warp 5 team. Not to mention her own prospects of promotion would be far better here than there. "You really need someone around here to stop you doing stupid things, don't you."

Jon looked her over, and she felt like he was studying her in a depth she hadn't been studied since her father had died. "It's not been the same since you left E."

She couldn't disagree with him, it had been so different for her, and she didn't necessarily like that the promises that had been made when she was transferred appeared to have been broken. "These seem like a really long 'couple of months'." She mumbled, trying not to sound ungrateful. "I want back on the NX project, Jon. I have since I was pulled off." She said more forcefully, and she realised it had probably been the first time she'd said to him or anyone else what she wanted. She had been raised and taught to accept what authority figures said, and therefore until right now she had never thought about questioning their decisions.

"If I can convince Forrest to bring you back, you'll come?" Jon asked a second later, and she was almost certain that even in the current climate Jon would be able to convince Forrest. Actually, reminding him that the pilots had always listened to her would probably help her cause more than anything else.

"I just said yes. On one condition." She smiled, and knew that she could get this concession out of him. It was something that she had wanted to say to him as long as she'd known him, but had never really had a bargaining position before.

"Name it?" He asked, hands once again joined in front of him, leaning out looking over the hangar.

"You stop pulling these idiotic stunts. I don't want to be in that control room when you blow yourself or someone else up."

"I promise."

As the silence grew she knew that she should be a good friend and ask about his relationship, however much it sucked to be reminded that he was in a steady relationship, and had been for almost a year. "How are things with Rebecca?"

He shrugged, turning his face toward her with a slight look of surprise. "They're alright, I think. I'm always here, she's not exactly happy with me getting suspended at the moment."

Erika couldn't not laugh at that, and for once maybe she and Rebecca had something in common, other than the fact they both wanted what was best for Jonathan. "Well, I can't say I blame her, I'd have kicked your ass."

"I know, you take more liberties with me than anyone else on the planet, other than my mother." He laughed and shook his head, it was true, he let her get away with more than anyone else, and she was necessarily unhappy about that. It always amused her that she could say the most outrageous things to him and he wouldn't even bat an eyelid, once she had been nice to him and he'd been confused. That still amused her.

"It's nice to know I'm in good company. I have a couple of reports due to Commodore Lawrence. Are you going to come up to the 602 with everyone tonight?" She asked, if only because she hoped that talking to him out of work would reveal the real reason he and Rebecca were clearly having issues.

"I was thinking about it. Will you be there?"

"Yeah. Don't bring Rebecca though, I really don't fancy another argument with her in front of everyone." She laughed, and the memory of the last team night out, that had ended in Rebecca getting herself uninvited from future team events, was clearly still on top of both of their minds.

"I think she's working anyway. See you tonight." He patted her back again as he started walking off. She followed him with her eyes again, wondering what it was about him that kept her coming back. It was maybe just about time she gave up trying to figure it out.


	11. Chapter 11

_**June 2143** _

He tried not to feel like he was the one bringing the party down, but he didn't feel like celebrating, though he should. It wasn't just for Rob, who had gotten the Warp 3 flight, but for Erika as well, who had finally been promoted to commander. She was the only one who was paying him any attention at all. He could feel her eyes on him before she started over toward him. "You're looking miserable. Come on, everyone's celebrating."

"I don't have much to celebrate." He said, the moment she stopped next to him. He saw the face she pulled, clearly she was worried about him, but it was also clear that she wasn't entirely sure what was bothering him.

That wasn't about to stop her trying to get him to join in. "Jon. Come on." She said, tugging on his arm just a little. He pulled it from her grasp. Leaning over the bar and grabbing another glass of water. They both had duty the following morning, he knew the Erika wouldn't be drinking either.

"I am proud of you, E." He smiled, and she nodded at him, that same look on her face, the one telling him that he was being antisocial, and stupid about it. The longer she stood with him the more looks were shot in their direction, until he couldn't ignore the glares any longer "They're missing you."

"Screw them." She grinned and he could see what she meant with that. She stepped away toward the door then turned back and looked at him, an unreadable expression on her face. "Come on, let's go."

"E." He said, but she didn't stop pulling him, and finally he put his glass on the bar again and allowed her to pull him out of the door, not even looking in the back room where the rest of their friends and colleagues were. After a while of walking down the almost pitch black back streets he felt the need to ask her again what kind of trouble she might be getting him into. "Erika where are you taking me."

"We're going to work." She muttered, and this time he grabbed her and stopped her, almost certain that he'd heard her wrong.

"Why?"

She groaned and tugged him into moving again. He followed her, mostly because he wanted to know what her plan was. "Because we can set up a plan of attack for the warp 3 flight. It'll be you and me in charge, so it's best to know what we're doing."

"Won't we get, I don't know, arrested?" He pointed out, remembering the last time that he had gone to the hangar after hours.

She shook her head as they came to the main entrance of the building, sliding her pass through the lock and letting them both in. "Nah, I have clearance."

He started laughing as they walked through the dark and silent corridors, he was unsurprised that it was as quiet as it was, with no flights due for a few weeks there was no need for people to be in. He shook his head as Erika slid into the side door to the NX hangar, and he couldn't help but feel this was going to end badly. "This is the oddest idea I think you've ever had."

"You've not seen some of my food choices. My office or yours?"

"Yours. You have more space." He smiled, thinking about being able to spread the PADDs out on her desk.

He watched her as they snuck through the hangar, for some reason the still and dark reminded him of sneaking out of the house when he was a teenager, always trying to get back into bed before his mother had realised he'd been out. Erika suddenly stopped and pressed herself against him, and he heard the telltale sound of footsteps on one of the upper walkways. He looked down at her as they tried to hide in the shadow of the Beta prototype, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer, and smiled as she looked up at him. "I thought you had clearance?"

"I do it's just better if people don't know we're here." She whispered back, and he could see it now, if they were found alone together in the hangar after hours, especially in the position they were in now. Her lips merely inches from his. In that moment he knew that they needed to step away from each other, because he couldn't control what he was thinking about then and there. He still technically had a girlfriend, even though they weren't on speaking terms. Even after the sound of the security door closing he didn't let Erika go, they just stayed looking at one another until he couldn't take it any longer. He leant down and kissed her as hard as he could and started moving them towards her office. Towards anywhere where they could just be alone together.

Now that he'd started he couldn't stop, and it seemed she was in the same place, fumbling through her pockets for the key to her office, all the while trying not to break their embrace. He laughed as they almost fell through the door, and the moment they were through he leant her against it. He felt her breath on his neck as he found the zip in her uniform, her bite on his neck convincing him to continue even as he felt his own uniform opening. Her hands slid under this shirt, her nails digging into his back ever so slightly. He pulled back just enough to push her uniform down, and he smiled as she kicked it off, pushing it to a corner of the room.

He held her up against the door as she wrapped her legs around him, he couldn't slow himself as she pulled him ever closer, he kept his mouth over hers, muffling the sound they were both making. He couldn't bring himself to think about anything but the woman in his arms, who he'd been in love with for almost 3 years, but had never told her. She groaned his name as he felt her clench around him, and it was all he could do not to cry out in response, instead kissed her harder than he ever had before. Hoping his legs stayed steady enough to hold them both up. A few seconds later he slid to the floor, wrapping his arms around her for a moment, keeping her on top of him so she didn't end up on the cold floor. He remembered that 18-months earlier they'd said this wasn't going to happen again. That there was too much riding on them professionally to risk a personal relationship.

"Erika?" He asked when he'd caught his breath again, she was still laid on top of him, making it hard for him to think of anything else, she rolled over just a little so she could look at him, yet instead of talking she sat forward and kissed him again. Clearly she wasn't ready to talk yet, and when he thought about it, neither was he.


	12. Chapter 12

_**June 2143** _

Now she remembered why she kept a blanket in her office, not for this exact situation, but for something like it, lying wrapped in it with Jonathan's arms around her, she was glad her alarm had been set early. It gave them plenty of time to wake up and pull their uniforms back on before others started arriving in the hangar. She was brushing through her hair in the mirror on the wall when Jon finally started speaking, and it was obvious what was on his mind. "We should probably talk about this?"

She turned round, gathering her hair into the ponytail she wore for work as she did. "What is there to talk about, Jon?" She tried to be as nonchalant as possible, but was almost certain that it didn't work, and that really she had just sounded like an idiot.

The look on Jon's face told her that she had said exactly the wrong thing, and she couldn't blame him for why that annoyed him. She wasn't cavalier about what they'd done, but she wasn't sure she could think about it and not want it to happen again, that was part of her problem when it came to him. It was too hard for her not to want more, even though she knew more would be a very bad idea. Jon's hands took her by the arms, pulling her in front of him and lifting her chin until she met his eyes. "Oh I don't know, the fact that we spent the night together, again, this time on the floor of your office?"

"I know. Look. Last night was-" She trailed off, looking for the right words to describe everything that had happened, and how it had happened, and how she felt about it. But the right words didn't seem to be coming to her. "Weird. But I don't regret it and I'm not sorry about it." She made a point to emphasise the last two points. Needing him to know that she couldn't and wouldn't ever be sorry about it, even though there were all the signs telling them that this was a bad time.

However he just nodded, a smile playing on his face. "Me either." He agreed, and she felt a small weight lift from the pit of her stomach. She knew though that that wasn't going to stop her rambling on, her brain was in gear and stopping it was harder than she thought.

"We both had a lot on our minds and the proximity and-" His finger on her lips was the only thing that stopped her talking, after a second he rested his hands on her hips, and the familiar presence there told her how often the two of them stood in a similar position to this, trying to remind the other of something.

He sighed after a few minutes, and all of a sudden everything came flooding back, every reason she had to make sure they put the project first. That was really what was most important to them both, and sometimes Jon needed reminding of that. "Erika, I don't think either of us can claim it meant nothing this time?" He said, before she could start, and it stopped her in her tracks. No, this had meant something. It had meant everything to her.

"No, it meant something, but our situation isn't all that different than it was 18-months ago." He pulled a face, and she knew he was about to point out everything that had changed in the last 18-months, but nothing had changed so drastically that her position had changed. She wanted him and this more than anything else in her life, but it was bad timing. "We still have the project to think about first, and you have a girlfriend." That seemed to hit them both like a tonne of bricks, but she was surprised to see a smile spread on his face. It was a grim smile, but it was obvious she had helped him make up his mind about something.

"Not for long." He muttered, and she knew what he was saying. That he wouldn't be seeing her after tonight. "If I was really serious about her like I've been trying to tell myself I am, last night wouldn't have happened."

"Are you sure about that?" She couldn't help but ask. 18 months ago he'd said what had happened had been inevitable, she couldn't help but think that this time was inevitable too in a way. Maybe not quite how it had happened last night, and looking at her office door was going to be hard for a while, but inevitable nonetheless.

He shook his head, and gently patted her hips, just where his hands rested, and all she could do was smile again. "Everything just seems to stack up against us, doesn't it?" He asked, and it was clear he'd come to the same conclusion she had. They could have something amazing, but the timing kept getting in the way. "Promise me that one day, when all is said and done and there is a possibility that we can be more than this. You'll tell me." He pulled her closer to him, and she was glad that her blinds were still closed and her door still locked, because this moment reminded her that things were never easy where colleagues were involved.

She thought about the right time. There hadn't been a right time yet, but she did know beyond all doubt that when there was a right time, they'd know. Something would tell them it was the right time, even if they didn't know it themselves. It was something she had to believe in, because if she didn't, what was she waiting around for? "Jon, when the time is right for us, you'll know, we'll both know. There will be some sign, something, that will make it clear that we don't have to take this all on ourselves."

He looked at her, and the emotions she could see playing across his face made it hard for her to not reach up and kiss him again, take back everything she had just said, but she knew that was more her own mental need to take care of him, something that had probably contributed to this. After a few seconds of silence he whispered, barely loud enough for her to hear. "Honestly, do you love me?"

"Of course I do, Jon. Sex isn't just sex to me, it never has been. It wasn't the first time and it wasn't this time. You're only the second person I've ever slept with, Jon. This just isn't the right time." She knew that confession wouldn't scare him off, because he knew her better than that. She wasn't ever going to be one who gave herself away to just anyone, but she trusted him, and that was the big part of who they were, of their friendship.

"You're right," he shook his head and looked over her shoulder, clearly thinking about something, something that really worried him. "I'm scared that one day you'll come into work and tell me you've met some guy and you love him more than you love me." He muttered, and she thought of the irony of that statement. She opened her mouth to make a point about Rebecca, but he lifted a finger before she could. "I never loved her the same way I love you. Rike." She smiled at his use of a family endearment for her, it was the first time someone she wasn't related to had used it, and she found she liked the way he said it. "You're the one I call after a bad day, you're the one I call when I'm feeling down. It's you, and your reasons for why we can't be anything are completely valid and maybe the way I feel is equally about our friendship, but it has been all you since the day we met." he smiled a little, then leant down and kissed her gently. "One day, however long I have to wait, we will have our chance, and when that day comes, I won't let you get away." He kissed her again before standing up and smiling, heading for the door. It was all she could do not to run after him and jump into his arms. They were making the right choice, but one day they could be something more.


	13. Chapter 13

_**November 2143** _

He was leant over the latest set of telemetry readings out of the Intrepid class patrollers, the whole thing was beginning to get more difficult for him, setting a date for the next warp flight that would satisfy everything, including Starfleet's need for three more Warp 2.5 tests, and 6 months in the simulator. He looked up to the other two pilots who were studying the same data, trying to help him set a date. He didn't even flinch as a familiar hand landed on his back. He smiled as she came beside him. "Jon, have you seen this?"

He wrapped an arm around her back to help him stand from his semi crouched position, taking the padd off her with his other hand, looking along the list of data. "What is it?" He asked, he could see it clearly, but for some reason, he wanted to hear her say it.

"It's the results of the last set of simulator tests, you came top again." She teased, squeezing his side and stepping away, causing a snigger to emit from AG and Sam, who were both trying to pretend they couldn't see what was going on the other side of the table.

He laughed, handing the padd over to AG, who was second on the list, and grinned a little smugly. "Can't go wrong with that, can I?" He teased, and he could see the slightly disapproving look that Erika shot him, he couldn't help that the pilots were still occasionally more than competitive.

"You might still get the 4 test." She pointed out quieter, leaning against the table, turning her back to the other two, creating an unspoken barrier.

"I can hope. Are we still on for tonight?" He asked, he'd been looking forward to their usual Friday night together, they'd missed the week before after she'd had a meeting with the UT team, who wanted her opinion on the latest upgrades, and the week before that he'd been in a mission debriefing.

She grinned, nodding even as her arms crossed her chest, making her look far mor commanding than he would ever be able to pull off convincingly. "You bring the beer, I've got the movie." Her terms made him laugh, he always brought the beer, or wine, or whatever else they drunk, she always had the movie, and whatever side-project they'd work on while they watched it until he inevitably passed out on her sofa.

"See you later." He grinned as she walked away, looking back to the pilots he was surprised to see them both with smirks on their faces. As if they knew something nobody else did.

AG was the first one to get the nerve to speak, the eldest of the NX pilots had quite obviously decided he was onto something, and his question was termed in the most schoolboy way. "Jon, are you and her, you know?"

He couldn't help but burst out laughing, he didn't think twice in 18-months counted as sleeping together, and the second time had been almost three months ago now. He shook his head as the two gave him a disbelieving look. "No. We're not sleeping together." He clarified, knowing that was what they wanted to hear.

Sam was the next one to lean forward, it was clear that neither of them actually believed him. It wasn't surprising that they thought that, considering that neither of them generally gave Erika the time of day outside of professional obligations. "Really, you two seem closer than you used to be." Sam's question was probably a valid one, he and Erika were closer, because they had given up pretending there was a boundary between them.

"It started right around the time you broke up with Rebecca." AG pointed out, leading to Sam nodding in agreement, it was as if they had practiced this tag teaming to get information out of him.

Sam's face turned thoughtful for a second, and then it was obvious he'd put two and two together, and then he muttered something that was obvious to him, and was probably closer to the truth than Jonathan had wanted either of them to get. "After you disappeared from Erika's celebration."

He held a hand up, stopping the tide of questioning and speculation. "E and I are just friends."

"Close friends?"

He smiled at that, a question he could answer 100% honestly, because there was no point denying that they were best friends, and had been as long as they'd known one another, and probably always would be. "She's probably my best friend, considering that my other friends are you two."

"That was uncalled for." AG said, a mock insulted look on his face. The three all went back to looking at their data, until AG looked up again with a grin. "You and Erika would make a cute couple."

"We're not a couple." He groaned, wondering how much longer this questioning could go on for, considering that the day was only a half hour from being over, and he'd be leaving with Erika, again, there was no point not waiting on her.

"You let her get away with so much more than anyone else." Sam pointed out, but it was clear from his tone he'd figured out that something had happened between them, AG was, thankfully, still oblivious, and he hoped that Sam kept his suspicions to himself.

"That's because she actually has valid points occasionally." That was the genuine reasons he had always let Erika get away with more, she had almost always had a genuine idea, and a way of doing something that he wouldn't think about

AG opened his mouth to speak again, but it was clear Sam saw something over Jon's shoulder, and started to push AG away, and Jon shot his friend a thankful look. Especially when he looked over his shoulder and saw that Erika was approaching them again. AG continued to try and make a point until Sam snapped at him, pushing him more toward the prototype. "It doesn't matter, let's go and deal with the aft thruster assembly."

The quick departure of the other two pilots didn't go totally unnoticed by Erika, who's eyes followed the two of them away as she slid up to the desk beside him. "What is up with those two?"

There was no point lying to her about what they'd been discussing, since he'd probably let it slip later anyway. He just grinned at her, gathering the padds up and slipping them into his pockets. "Gossip. They think we're together."

"So do half the rest of the team. I've given up denying it now." She shrugged, and rested against the edge of his table again. He held a hand out in front of him once he'd gathered everything, letting her take the lead. Who really cared what anyone else thought, the matter was about if they could work together, and they'd proven that they could.


	14. Chapter 14

July 2144

He was getting far too used to Erika actually giving him a run for his money during the mandatory sparring sessions, the fact that they always had some kind of personal wager going on, depending on what they were planning to do in the next week, this time she had wagered on where they would spend their weekend climbing, a recent hobby they had both decided to take up. They had both taken to it quickly, and it mean that they would regularly take off together on the weekends along with a few other officers. He had won the bout, and she wasn't happy with his pick. "That was not what we agreed on." She argued as they walked back into the NX hangar, both still catching their breath.

He shook his head, tapping a finger on her chin as he reached past her to grab a bottle of water. "You said whichever of us was closer got to pick where we climbed."

"We've done McKinley before." She complained again, and he had to remind himself that she had been climbing a few months longer than him. She might have done it before, but he hadn't.

"Where would you have picked?" He asked, genuinely curious as to where she thought would be worth them going. He didn't know many places, but he had picked somewhere that he was at least interested in.

She shrugged and it was clear from the look on her face she hadn't actually thought of anywhere, so maybe it was best that he had won, or they'd have ended up on a mystery tour, knowing how indecisive Erika could be from time to time. "I don't know, the peak district in England, or somewhere warmer." She finished lamely, causing him to burst out laughing, shaking his head as she passed him again.

"I won fair and square, E."

"I hate you sometimes." She muttered, leading the way toward their offices in the back of the hangar. He ran and caught up to her, noticing Captain Jeffries heading in their direction. He put a hand on Erika's shoulder, slowing her, since he wasn't sure which of them Jeffries would want to talk to.

"Tell the others that we're going this weekend and they can tag along if they want." He smiled, Erika put her hand over his for a minute, then looked over to see Jeffries approaching and quickly dropped it.

"Commander Archer. Commander Hernandez." Jeffries said, stopping in front of them, and Jon felt himself straightening as if by reflex.

"Captain." He heard Erika mutter beside him.

Jeffries smiled to his companion, and he realised that Jeffries wanted to speak to him about something, and considering that he hadn't had a conversation with Forrest yet, he wasn't sure what it could be about. "Erika, can you give me a few minutes?" Jeffries asked, and out of the corner of his eye he saw her nod gently.

"Sure." She stopped and poked Jon in the side before walking off with a shout over her shoulder. "I will beat you next time." She called, and Jon felt his face split into a grin that he couldn't control. Their interplay didn't seem to be lost on the Captain.

"You two seem to be close?"

Jon nodded, his eyes still on Erika's retreating back until her office door shut, and he refocused his attention on Jeffries. "We've been working together for 4 years, sir."

"That's true isn't it?" The captain seemed to be asking what a rhetorical question, considering everything that was happening at the moment, it was hard to forget how long the project had been going. Jeffries looked Jon up and down, and suddenly he felt like he was being studied for a science project. "Are you ready for a change?"

"Sir?" He asked, not really sure what was being offered.

"Look, Jon. We need a pilot on the design team. I remember your modifications for the original cockpit of the prototype." Jon remembered his surprise that Jeffries had used his design, and now was he asking for more help, for something more. He wasn't entirely certain. "I need a pilot, and I want you. I know your first loyalty is to your father's engine, but the ship needs to live up to what he wanted too, who better to help us do that than you." It was always a worry when the seniors felt the need to try and convince him by bringing his father into a conversation. Jon would do anything that was needed of him to get humanity out into deep space, they didn't need to name drop. Maybe that was why he was comfortable on the Warp 5 programme, he'd gotten used to people knowing his own merits, rather than just who his father was.

"Is this really a request sir?" His mind lingered on a year earlier, when Erika was transferred without her consent. She had spent months on the UT project, despite the fact that she had been needed by the Warp 5 team.

"If you say no, Jon, you won't be forced to join my team, but I'd like you aboard."

"I'll think about it sir." He nodded, and Jeffries started to move away, but after a second the captain seemed to think again, and turned back to Jon, indicating Erika's office over his shoulder.

"Maybe talk it over with others on the team, you might find you're not as indespensible as you think."

He was still stood rooted to the spot when he recognised the familiar sound of Erika sidling up to him. He blinked as she put her hand on his arm. "What was that about?" She asked, pulling him back to the present, and he knew now what Jeffries' parting words had been about.

"Jeffries wants me on the design team."

He spotted the minute change in Erika's expression, but he wasn't going to say anything to her about it, her question didn't surprise him, it would have been the first thing he'd ask if Jeffries had wanted to talk to her."What did you say?"

"I said I'd think about it." He smiled, heading now back toward his office, after a second he heard Erika race to catch up to him, his longer legs making it far harder for her to match his speed.

"You should go for it." She said, the only thing she could have said to stop him completely in his tracks, he turned to her incredulously, unable to believe that she was actually encouraging him to leave the warp 5 team.

"Really?"

"Yeah, its a great opportunity for you."

"Can the Warp 5 team cope without me?" He asked, and he could see from her eyes that she knew the real question she was asking, would she be alright. She gave him a slight smile and reached out rubbing his arm again.

"We'll be fine, Jonathan."

"I best go tell him I accept then. I'll pick you up tonight for our climbing trip." He grinned, knowing that would get a rise out of her more than anything.

"I hate you." She laughed, and walking away he knew that the opposite of that was true, and maybe she was right, maybe the warp 5 teams would be fine without him. That didn't necessarily mean that he wanted to leave them. He really didn't, he had pledged to get the engine flying, but there was more than just the prototypes needed for that, and Henry Archer had wanted his son to be an explorer, once upon a time. He couldn't do that sat behind a desk. Erika was right, it was a great opportunity, and one he now looked forward to going for.


	15. Chapter 15

_**December 2144** _

The knock on the door was the last thing she expected, she jumped and almost dropped the tub of ice-cream she'd half-heartedly been eating. At the second knock she finally put the tub down and walked to the door, the face through the peep-hole was another one she didn't expect. "I thought you might appreciate some company."

"How did you get up here? I thought you were in New York?" She asked, confused. He hadn't come to see her at her apartment in weeks, they'd seen each other at work, and when they'd both been out eating. But very little else.

His grin said a lot, and leaning against the door he looked exactly like the last time he'd teased her. He walked passed her just looking at her pyjamas. "Mom is visiting my aunt. Your neighbour let me in. How are you? You look great." He grinned, completely ignoring her actual questions. She shut the door and looked after him before going back and sitting on the sofa again.

"What are you doing here, Jon?" She asked again, but it was clear by now that he was avoiding her questions, she just shook her head and picked up her tub of ice-cream again, looking over at Jon who dumped his jacket by the door.

"We haven't seen much of each other lately, Rike." He came over and slid beside her, settling on the sofa. "I missed you."

She missed him, but they were both too busy. He'd been on the design team and the more tests that were being run meant she was spending a lot longer in the command centre. "You've been busy designing the ship." She pointed out, and the smile that spread across his face worried her just a little.

He pulled a padd out and held it out to her, and she wondered just how many protocols and security issues he was breaking showing her the initial blueprints for the ship. "She's going to be beautiful too." He smiled, his arm over the back of the sofa behind her. "So tell me, what's going on with the project?" He turned to her and she grimaced, not really wanting to think about it, because thinking about that made it pretty obvious that she missed having him as her partner in the command centre.

She tried not to think about that. "AG is the one in the control centre, and he hates it. Sam and Rob hate him giving the orders. We're due a couple of new pilots in the new year though." She smiled, looking back into the bottom of her ice-cream tub and realising she'd eaten the whole thing that evening. She looked over to Jon, who was looking at the news channel she'd had on. "Jon." She muttered after watching him for a few moments.

"Yeah?" He asked, sitting back next to her his arms crossed. They just looked at each other, but she felt the need to tell him that that she missed him.

"It's not the same without you on the project." He looked at her with a confused expression, and all she could do was expand on it. "It feels different. There isn't as much dedication there." she stopped and put her hand on his leg. "I miss you."

"I miss you, too."

She shook her head, looking into his eyes and hoping that maybe he would understand what she meant. She'd never been great at letting people know exactly how she felt about them, so she needed to keep going. "No, Jon. I mean I really miss you. Like, I hate going into work and knowing I won't see you walking past my window, or hear you laughing with Sam and AG. They won't admit it, they miss you too. But I miss you most of all."

"Erika?" He muttered and moved closer to her. Despite all their talk of good and bad times, and signs from the universe, she knew that she needed him right now. He slid an arm around her, pulling her to him. He held her close for a few minutes, kissing her on the top of her head. She pulled back just a little, enough to lean up and kiss him lightly. Within seconds he was kissing her back, laying her back on the sofa. "We said we weren't going to do this again." He whispered, continuing to kiss her neck as he did.

"We said a lot of things, Jonathan." She muttered, stopping him for just a second so she could look at him, holding her hand against his cheek. She wanted to memorise this moment, everything that they did together. He leant back down and kissed her, deeper than before. His fingers fumbled with the buttons on her shirt, she pushed his shirt off at the same time, her heart was pounding beneath his hands.

The last time they'd been together, it had been fast and furious, there had been no thought or exploration to it, now she took the time to really look at him, feel him under her hands. The two of them taking things much slower. He picked her up and carried her through to the bedroom, she didn't let go of him for a second, not wanting to open any space between them, worried that if she did this spell would be broken, and that was the last thing she wanted. He whispered little things in her ear as they came together, she smiled and kissed his neck, his cheek, anything she could. Everything seemed to fall into place as she watched his face.

She laid curled in to his side afterwards, her hand lazily drawing circles on his chest. The unspoken ' _it still isn't the right time_ ' discussion not needing to happen, of that she was certain. She knew that when that magical time came, if it ever did, there would be far more talk. She chuckled a little as she realised it had been almost exactly 18-months since the time in her office. Something that still made looking at the door awkward. She rolled over toward him, letting him pull her closer to him. "There seems to be something about us."

"What do you mean?" He whispered in her ear again, it seemed to be one thing that he always did. Whispering in her ear as she was half asleep. It was something she'd always remember.

She grinned at him, leaning back a little so she could look at him. In turn he rolled over so he was facing her, pulling her even tighter to his front. "Well, we seem to sleep together every 18 months or so."

"Maybe it's just because you are so beautiful, sometimes I can't keep my hands off you." He smiled, stroking his hand up her back, and round under her chin before he kissed her again, sliding over the top of her. "It's after midnight, merry Christmas." He muttered, she smiled as he leant over her again. For once she had gotten something she wanted for Christmas, even if it wasn't going to last. The new year was coming though, who knew, maybe this year would be different.


	16. Chapter 16

_**April 2145** _

The design bay was almost silent, with only Jon working on the designs, the quiet tapping and hails of Jane Laws, the comm officer for that team, were the only other noises in the room. He was trying to think of how best he could optimise the layout around the bridge when he heard the security door on the top level open. That was the door that directly connected them to the Warp 5 hangar. The only people who used that door were the officers who were tasked with delivering messages from either of the commanding officers, who both had offices up on that top level. After a few seconds of silence he went back to studying the plans, clearly whoever had come in had been looking for someone else. "Archer!" was barked a second later, and he groaned, only the unimpressive aide of Commodore Forrest, Aaron Jordan, would shout for him in that manner.

"What?" He grunted, and he could feel Jordan's eyes on his back, if he kept staring so hard, Jon would have two smouldering holes in his back.

"No way to talk to a superior, Forrest wants you." He yelled back, at which Jon looked over toward Jane, who gave him a light smile and a shake of her head. He knew that she was telling him that kicking Jordan's ass was probably not the best way for him to deal with this situation. They were the same rank though, and technically, Jonathan had superiority, by about three weeks.

He felt the annoyance again in Jordan's stare, and continued to not look around. "You're not my superior Aaron." He said just loud enough that Jordan would be able to hear.

"My ass I'm not." Jordan scoffed in the background, and Jon finally felt the eyes leave his back, at which point he knew he'd need to confirm the message.

"I'll be there in five."

Jane stood up and brought some files over toward him, Laughing as she did, she was used to the way that Jordan was as well, both teams had gotten used to dealing with him, though as far as he was aware nobody looked forward to it. Jon smiled as he took the files off Jane, he caught the grin on her face, and he knew something was coming, what that was thought he could only guess at. "Forrest is in charge of the Warp 5 team, isn't he?" She asked, and he was taken aback by the routine question, having expected something far more interesting.

"As far as I'm aware, yes." He answered sarcastically, but didn't miss the wry grin that spread on Jane's face.

"Maybe you're getting that transfer back you keep putting in for." She muttered, picking at her fingernails. He hadn't mentioned to anyone on the NX team that he had wanted a transfer back to the Warp 5 team. Though he knew that they had probably caught how much time he spent in their hangar when he could get away with it.

"How do you know about that?"

Jane's face told the story long before she said anything, and he felt himself beginning to smile. "Comm officers know everything." She muttered conspiratorially, and that caused his smile to grow even more. He should have known that somehow she was behind this.

"Erika?" He didn't really need the clarification, but it was probably best that he asked, because it meant that Jane could give her a little warning that they had spoken.

"Yep."

"She misses me over there." He said, watching as Jane nodded. He knew that the comm officers in the hangar were all pretty tight. Jane was probably the only other person in the building who knew how complicated his relationship with Erika really was.

"I know, I think that whole team misses you though, to be honest. You'd do more over there than you can here anyway." Jane smiled, clearly working to make it less awkward for him.

"Thanks, Jane."

"Anytime boss. You'd better go see him." She gave him a little push before walking back over to her own desk. He walked up the walkways to the office, looking down briefly into the Warp 5 hangar. He could pick Erika out in the middle of the floor, hand to her ear, clearly directing the officers around her. He watched her for a minute, too high up to hear her words, but glad to see that she was clearly the one in charge. As if she could sense his gaze she looked up, on spotting him she gave a slight wave, which he returned before turning and knocking on the office door behind him.

"You wanted to see me Commodore?" He asked as soon as he was granted entry. Forrest indicated to the seat opposite him.

It wasn't often Jon had been called up here, but he still felt like he'd been called to see the principle, he hoped that Jane was right, and that he was getting his transfer back to the warp 5 time, but he knew it wasn't best to try and push the commodore. Jon looked to the desk while he waited for Forrest to continue. "Yes, you've been doing some good work on the NX design team."

"Yes sir." He nodded and tried not to look as worried as he felt.

"Are you ready to come back and head up the Warp 5 team?" Forrest asked, seemingly out of the blue, and it took Jon a moment to realise what had just been said. Head up the team?

"What?"

Forrest smiled, and it was obvious that he had already made his mind up. "We want you back, Jon, and I know from Commander Hernandez that you're ready to come back to us." The last was delivered with a hint of a teasing smirk on the Commodore's face. Jon found himself pulling a face, though he couldn't help but smirk at the fact she had been fighting his corner for him, much as he had fought her corner when she'd been transferred years earlier.

"When will she not talk about me?" He joked, hoping that Forrest knew he wasn't being serious.

"She made a pretty valid point in our staff briefing that things haven't gone as smoothly or as quickly since you left. You gelled the team together, and that is what we need right now." Forrest confirmed, and it wasn't a surprise to Jon that Erika had been the one to say that, really it was probably more that she disagreed with more than half the orders the other pilots would give, and that generally meant that she would ask for him to be in the command centre with him.

"OK?" He asked, wondering if and when the catch would come up, he hoped there wasn't one, especially when it seemed like Forrest was going for the hard sell on him.

"It'll be a big step towards commanding that ship you've been helping to design. Monday, oh-eight-hundred, you'll even get your old office back."

"I'll be there, Commodore." He smiled, it was the transfer. It had taken all this time for it to be confirmed. He stood up and shook Forrest's hand. Who then leant forward just a little with a serious look on his face.

"Good, now, go tell Commander Hernandez, so I don't deal with her on my doorstep again this evening."

"Aye sir." He shook his head, laughing at how annoying but valid Erika must have been to have convinced Forrest that he was needed back on the project. He would never again complain that Erika was unable to get what she wanted. It seemed that she was just far more underhand than the rest of them in the way she went about it.


End file.
